yoga
Yoga and meditation are essential in living a health and wellness lifestyle. Longevity highlights yoga poses, celebrities, trends, and fads.
Yoga Poses for Better Sleep
If you are tired of the noxious tentacles of chronic insomnia and the daily disruptive stress, it is time for you to incorporate a few yoga poses for better sleep into your pre-slumber ritual. Often, counting sheep or fantasizing about our dreams does not do much to put us to sleep. Be it the last sip of our cup of camomile or the most mundane story we have ever heard, everything fails to realize the goal. Anxious thoughts about the next day’s presentation or ongoing personal troubles run rampant in our minds. That is when yoga comes into play. The meditative elements of yoga can make us more in tune with the sensations of the body, relieving the continuous battles of the mind and assuring a way to steady the wandering soul. By practicing these yoga poses for better sleep, you can happily hit the sack and weave beautiful dreams of tomorrow.
By Mackenzie Lu9 years ago in Longevity
Gaining Mastery of Your Senses
"If a man's reason succumbs to the pull of his senses he is lost. On the other hand, if there is rhythmic control of the breath, the senses instead of running after external objects of desire turn inwards, and man is set free from their tyranny." —B.K.S Iyengar 'Light on Yoga'
By BambooMoves Forest Hills9 years ago in Longevity
Dharana - Concentration
“True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness. Yoga is about how the Will, working with intelligence and the self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitably of the wavering mind and outwardly directed senses.” —BKS Iyengar in Light on Life
By BambooMoves Englewood9 years ago in Longevity
Moving Into Stillness
“I am always at the beginning” —The Aged Buddha, on being asked what life was like. As the holidays come to an end and winter settles in there’s a beautiful yin energy; introspective and still, that provides us with the time and space to unearth our soul’s desires, to mirror Mother Nature. She retreats back to her soil and works hard to ensure her gifts are received in abundance in Spring time.
By BambooMoves Englewood9 years ago in Longevity
Best Yoga Poses For Runners
Yoga poses for runners go beyond incorporating a healthy stretch regimen prior to an intense run. Traditionally, yoga is formatted to focus on regulated breathing patterns. As a result, it affects the human body in multiple ways including increasing blood flow to vital organs and tissues, elongating muscles, toning the body through prolonged muscle contractions, and improving sitting/standing balance for a variety of activities. So it only makes sense that yoga pairs nicely with running. For instance, when an individual is training for a half marathon, they will rapidly learn of the demands and tolls placed on the body: pulled hamstrings, IT-band syndrome, lower back pain, sciatica, asthma/anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, shin splints, headaches, neck pain, rolled ankles… and the list goes on. This is not meant to scare readers away from starting a running schedule. Rather, it is meant to recommend an easy way to take all of the potential pain and damage from training and resolve it through basic yoga techniques. The following yoga poses for runners are easy to use and can be used daily in preparation for races of any pace and length.
By Mackenzie Lu9 years ago in Longevity
Self Care Rituals
Why is self care always the first thing to go when life “gets in the way” when it should be our number one priority? Isn’t our body supposed to be our temple? It should be treated with the utmost respect like the expensive sports car, fed the finest fuel, kept pristine and sparkling, both inside and out. Instead, we’re skimping on sleep and meals—or worse yet, eating fast food and loading up on stimulants. We can’t live a life we love on fumes! We’re letting ourselves get so consumed with work and projects and commitments and things that don’t serve us. Even spending quality time with friends and family is considered food for the soul and we’ve probably been neglecting that as well.
By BambooMoves Englewood9 years ago in Longevity
Yoga Poses to Manage Migraines
More often than not, our first instinct when we get hit with a headache is to down some Advil and water, but there’s an easier solution. Yoga. While physical activity while you have a headache may sound like an oxymoron, yoga poses really can help manage migraines. Plus, it's all natural, so you don’t have to pump your body full of medicine to relieve the pain. You don’t have to be a yoga pro to utilize yoga poses to manage migraines. These easy to do poses can be done in the comfort of your home and are sure to help. Follow along to find out the best tips and tricks to master these yoga poses that can help manage headaches.
By Mackenzie Lu9 years ago in Longevity
7 Chakras for Beginners
Chakras for beginners will help you learn the importance of the seven energy chakras inside the body. These centers align with one another and allow for the natural flow of energy to maintaining health and wellness. When a chakra becomes blocked or misaligned with the other six, the flow of energy is restricted and the body responds with anxiety, and physical and mental imbalances, often in the areas of the actual blockage. This article will teach you how to recognize the areas where a blockage may be responsible for physical and emotional distress. Meditation, yoga, color energy, and crystal energy are traditional techniques used to maintain physical and emotional health by keeping your energy fluid. These seven chakras for beginners will help you to understand these connections which will result in the ability to cleanse, unblock, and activate your chakras.
By Mackenzie Lu9 years ago in Longevity
Non Slip Yoga Mats for Hot Yoga
So you’re looking to find the best non slip yoga mats for hot yoga? Look no further! I’ve compiled a list of mats sure to take your practice to new levels. As an avid Yogi, I know the importance of finding the right mat. Your mat is your foundation and home for the class. When it comes to hot yoga, we yogis need to be mentally alert and focused on our practice to ensure we get the most out of our time. Slipping, falling, and feeling unstable can bring you out of focus and ruin your experience, not to mention cause unnecessary injury. That’s why it’s so important to find the right non slip yoga mats for hot yoga!
By Alicia Springer9 years ago in Longevity
Guru Quotes That Inspire Me
Gurus have become synonymous with intellects, leaders or spiritual guides. In Hinduism, a spiritual teacher who passed on the knowledge of the Vedas (a body of liturgical literature) was a guru. Many ancient gurus, were believed to be the living embodiments of a particular deity's spiritual truth. Their words of wisdom ring true in a world where many of us question contemporary leadership and society's spirituality. Guru quotes inspire us to look deeper within ourselves for spiritual guidance.
By Frank White9 years ago in Longevity
The Ego
What is the ego? There has been talk of this going on as far back as Freud however there is such a variety of interpretation that it seems to fall somewhere in the area of mysticism. It is something that is found in everyone which is why this topic is fascinating. The dichotomy between the opposing functions of the ego is where much of the confusion lies. Some define ego as a driving force. As something we need to stay motivated and survive in the world. Others are completely against the ego knowing that it is not in fact the ego that drives us but our mind in the witnessing state. Witnessing is that state where we feeling like we are in the “zone,” so to speak. Where we are pure existence doing something we love or enjoy and are fully immersed in. It is a separateness from the body which we identify with. Our body and mind are so grounded in what we think & feel that it sometimes takes a lifetime to undo the conditioning and in most cases several lifetimes. Which one is right: science or mysticism? Both. In order to access our true self we need to step outside of the confines of the mind. Ego is what keeps us from the core of our being which is pure bliss. Acting from this place allows us to use the mind in an efficient way. The mind is like a highly technical invisible computer located in everyone that has vast capabilities of both great things & mass destruction. When the mind hinders our well-being the ego is present. Keeping this as technical as we can, one can say many people suffer from the fluctuations of the mind (Ego) which is in short what keeps us from our own equanimity. It has also been speculated that the mind is the origin of all disease as it relates to the cause and or our attitude about it. Science has figured out many ways to help control the mind mostly through the use of medication by inhibiting the feelings & thoughts that are troubling us. This method only treats the symptoms of the mind instead of eradicating the source of problem. Mysticism would suggest facing these feelings head on with a number of different lifestyle changes and techniques. The latter has proven to be very effective however extremely difficult to maintain. It is usually when life becomes difficult and throws us a curve ball that we tend to seek out these types of lifestyle changes. A good first step is looking at our adversities as a catalyst for future positive change. There are numerous ways to commence this lifestyle change however conquering just one at a time could be an approachable way to begin living these practices slowly and in a way that will facilitate the consistency needed. The practice of yoga, mindfulness and meditation has found its way back into the mainstream even though it has been around for thousands of years. People are realizing that no matter what lifestyle they have, their are bodies crave the benefits of stretching, releasing stress from their body and mind, an overall calmer presence and just plain happiness. I have encountered so many different types of people on and off the mat opening up to me about how much they know yoga and mediation can help them. It is calling out to so many people now which makes me want to get the word out as far and wide as possible. It is not easy, but with help it can happen. The first step is establishing a strong mind body connection by attending a yoga class that resonates with you. There are many different teachers and styles out there so allow yourself to explore what is our there and once you find it, do your best to stay consistent with the practice. The benefits will begin to flourish in your life and you will begin to wonder how you survived without it!
By Jackie Mazzarella9 years ago in Longevity
